Parker Short

Samuel Parker Short (born January 22, 2002) is an American political organizer who was the president of the Young Democrats of Georgia. He gained popularity on social media after singing and dancing to the Kendrick Lamar single "Not Like Us" at a rally for the Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign. He graduated from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan in 2024 and is working toward a master's degree from the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University.

Early life and education

Samuel Parker Short was born in 2001 or 2002 in Dunwoody, Georgia, where he was raised. His father died when Short was young, leading to his family's receiving Survivor Social Security. Short's father's labor union helped protect his family from medical debt, which brought Short to advocate for Democratic politics.

He attended Dunwoody High School, where he led a student walkout on March 14, 2018, advocating for gun control in response to the Parkland high school shooting. Short also founded a Young Democrats Club at his school, which received guest speeches from political figures such as former Georgia governor Roy Barnes and former Georgia State Senator Jason Carter. He graduated from high school in 2020.

Short graduated from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan in May 2024. He is now a candidate for a Master of Public Policy degree from the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University.

Political career

Short first worked as an intern for the first congressional campaign of Jon Ossoff from March 2017 to June 2017. From January 2018 to November 2018, he worked for the campaign of Mike Wilensky; during this time, he began coordinating groups of volunteers. In March 2019, he became the Georgia Chair of the High School Democrats of America for the next year. From June 2019 to November 2019, Short managed volunteers and outreach for Lynn Deutsch's campaign for Dunwoody mayor. Short also managed voter outreach for a campaign for Ted Terry from June 2020 to August 2020.

In August 2020, Short was a Democratic National Convention (DNC) delegate. Short was a legislative aide for Georgia State Senate member Nikki Merritt from December 2020 to April 2021. Following that, he was an intern for the chief of the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department from June 2021 to August 2021.

Short again worked as an intern for Ossoff in his Judiciary Committee team from September 7, 2021, to December 17, 2021. He worked for the advocacy group Public Citizen from February 2022 to April 2022 and for the Michigan AFL-CIO from May 2022 to January 2023.

In 2023, Short became the president of the Young Democrats of Georgia (YDG), working alongside his vice president, Davante Jennings. (Prior to his YDG presidency, Short was the Vice President of Programming from May 2021 to May 2022, and then the Executive Vice President.) His term has ended in September 2024 and replaced by his vice president, Davante Jennings. He has since then served, as of October 2024, as its National Committee Representative.
Short worked as an aide to Atlanta city councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari starting in June 2023. In September 2023, he started as an office intern for the public defender of Washtenaw County, Michigan. He continued in this position until January 2024, and in February he became the deputy manager for Kimberly Thomas's successful campaign for the Michigan Supreme Court. Short was also a DNC delegate again in 2024.
In July 2024, Short endorsed the Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign. On July 30, 2024, Short gained popularity on social media after singing and dancing to the Kendrick Lamar single "Not Like Us" at a rally for the campaign at the Georgia State Convocation Center in Atlanta. Videos of him from this event received millions of views, with one being shared by Kamala HQ, an official social media presence of the Harris campaign. One article called him "the Kendrick Lamar-spitting white boy blowing up TikTok." He said he aimed to direct this attention to the YDG and advocate for more involvement of young people in politics.

Short worked as a policy analyst for DeKalb County, Georgia, from May 2024 until he started his program at Duke. On July 24, 2024, he was a guest speaker in a press conference advocating for teaching AP African American Studies in Georgia schools. Short went viral again in August 2024 for a confrontation with Charlie Kirk at the Democratic National Convention. He has had opinion pieces published in support of citizen-initiated ballot initiatives and his opposition to Stone Mountain. Short serves as a member of the DeKalb County Community Council, and has published an additional op-ed advocating for water and sewer infrastructure investments in DeKalb. Short held a townhall with his Congressman Hank Johnson in February 2025 to discuss the impact of the first 30 days of the Trump administration. https://ocgnews.com/congressman-hank-johnson-to-host-social-media-influencer-parker-short-to-discuss-trump-musk-first-30-days-of-reign-of-terror/ As a contributor to the Atlanta Journal Constitution Short has written several opinion editorials about Georgia policy and politics, including advocating to raise the minimum wage and legalize marijuana.

References

External links

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Young Democrats of Georgia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Short, Parker
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
People from Dunwoody, Georgia
Dunwoody High School alumni
Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy alumni
21st-century Georgia (U.S. state) politicians
Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats
2000s births